Greencaviar Travel

Revisiting Gaudí’s Masterpiece and Culinary Delights Barcelona, a city that effortlessly blends history, art, and modernity, has always been a favorite of mine. My previous visit was a delightful exploration of the city's vibrant food scene, its charming tapas bars, and the exquisite creations of Antoni Gaudí. This time, I returned with a specific motivation: to witness the near-completion of the Sagrada Familia, a masterpiece that had left a lasting impression on me years ago. A Gaudí Pilgrimage On my first visit, Gaudí’s architectural wonders were the highlights. I marveled at the undulating forms of Casa Mila and Casa Batlló, wandered through the whimsical Park Güell, and stood in awe of the Sagrada Familia. The cathedral, in particular, was a sight to behold, even though it was shrouded in construction materials and dust. The grandeur of its structure was overwhelming, and the ongoing construction only added to its imposing presence. This time, the news of the Sagrada Familia n...

Park Guell   Barcelona is one of my favorite cities. First off, I love the whimsical architecture. It has Antonio Gaudi's, the crazy genius architect, signature all over the city. I enjoyed hanging out at the park, 'Park Guell', a combination of art and nature. I thought Gaudi designed the park with every kid in us in mind. The park is best known for the Hansel and Gretel's gingerbread house and the colorful glass and tile dragon at the entrance.  Another favorite is the Sagrada Familia - religious architecture that has become as much a symbol of Barcelona as the Eiffel Tower is of Paris. Started in 1882, Sagrada Familia is still under construction and is expected to finish whenever (there was actually a target date). So it evolved or continue to evolve from gothic to art nouveau. The front façade is gothic, blah, blah (blah in a good way like any cathedrals in Europe), but the added beauty is in the interior nave that Gaudi designed to mirror nature: trees, bra...

     I was in Galicia, Spain doing the Camino De Santiago walk when my cousin's family from Lugo, Spain came to visit me at my rural hotel and offered to take me out. I have not met them in person before, but through Facebook, we got to know each other well. They knew I love the ocean, the beach and that I wanted to visit San San Sebastian and the Basque region of Spain. Upon learning that I cancelled my plans on going to San Sebastian after the walk, my cousin's husband, Ruben, decided to take me to A Coruña - 1 1/2 hour drive from my rural hotel. I never heard of A Coruna before I arrived in Galicia, a charming city of around a quarter million inhabitants on Spain's Northwestern coast. So on our way to a Coruna, Ruben - a well-traveled marine engineer, told me that it's one of his favorite cities in Spain, 2nd only to San Sebastian and Barcelona. (Later, I found the common thread between his favorite cities). Just having finished a segment of my Camino De...

When asked what my motivation was for doing the Camino, I jokingly answered, “to check off my list of things to do before I die.” But deep inside, I had a very personal reason for walking the Camino. Four months after recovering from cancer, I joined the San Francisco Bay to Breaker marathon and surprisingly surpassed my goal. So I decided to take on a more challenging physical activity. Walking the Camino seemed to be a natural choice since it combined both spiritual and physical activities. Also, I had always wanted to go to Northern Spain to experience the culture and cuisine that's instinctively Northern Spain. I thought it would be overly ambitious for me to walk 800 kilometers from the French/Spanish Pyrenees border all the way to Santiago de Compostela, or carry a heavy load on my back, so I signed up for the +100k walking tour. Meeting in Madrid  I met my fellow walking travelers in Madrid. My fellow travelers, ages ranging from 19-70 came from different parts ...

"September is supposed to be the best time to visit Spain", a friend from Madrid said in an email, "The heat of summer should have passed, but the air still warm." After checking the car rentals and RENFE (train/rail system in Spain) schedule, I found the tour bus to be the most cost-effective and the best way to go. Soon enough we were on a flight from Paris to Madrid to catch the bus to Southern Spain. The following day, we left our very comfortable hotel early in the morning to find the tour operator office closed. So we decided to have breakfast at the restaurant next door. One hour past the scheduled departure date, the office still has not opened. I was afraid the trip got canceled. Encouraged to see a piece of luggage by the door, I went out to check if there were other travelers around. We found the owners of the luggage, a young American couple, waiting at the other side of the doorway. As the door opened, RC and I followed the young couple inside. ...

I hope my first few articles somehow gave you some ideas on how to stretch your travel budget. Now that I have the practical talk out of the way, I hope I can share some thoughts and hopefully provide the inspiration you need to embark on your own journey. On that note, I would like to share a poem written by my niece, Rachelle Cruz – a poem inspired by our trip to Spain. HUNGER At La Casa Botin, we suck tentacles stewed in a pocket of hunger. We learn Hemingway dipped his pen in this hunger. Duende bird of ink, your house of deep song and fortress, where even cats listen, stray from their hunger. Sevilla, she swirls her mantón around arms, claps, even dance won’t defy history or Spanish Hunger. There’s a lover in California folding his dress socks, straightening his bookshelf, a mouth in absence won’t satisfy hunger. She tastes her finger of ink from the latticed bowl, I imagine we are descendants of this hunger. Each of us experiences hunger in a differen...